Ensemble Q’s final Sundays by the Lake concert for 2026 featured a dramatic purple, jacaranda-strewn backdrop in University of Queensland colours, providing a pleasant distraction from Schubert’s sedate Octet.

Melody Eötvös’s sand-inspired septet Baelo opened the program. Commissioned by Ensemble Q in 2025, it takes its name from the Baelo Claudia archaeological complex and dunes in Bolonia, Spain.

The slow, methodical pace evoked the creeping dunes, with hints of Arabia emerging from Paul Dean’s ornamental clarinet.

The five movements blended into one extended pleasantry, as the sands of time seemed to trickle through the hourglass.

Ensemble Q: Schubert’s Octet, GHD Auditorium, University of Queensland. Photo © Morgan Roberts

Time continued to crawl in parts of Schubert’s Octet in F major. Known as one of his most varied chamber works, it was commissioned by amateur clarinettist Ferdinand Troyer, who requested a work in the style of Beethoven’s then-fashionable Septet in E-flat major. Schubert’s generous Octet adds a second violin to the combination of horn, bassoon and clarinet, unfolding across six dramatic movements.

The almost hour-long work is more symphonic in scope, embracing the vocal power of its eight instruments while allowing each musician’s virtuosity to shine. Co-Artistic Director Paul Dean described it as “something magical, combining unrelated keys without a clutch!”

After a slow harmonic introduction, a flamboyant clarinet chattered alongside the robust bassoon of David Mitchell, while Nicholas Mooney’s horn rang out bold and true. A soft and tender Adagio had the strings fluttering around Phoebe Russell’s delicate, if somewhat monotonous, bass line, with pensive lullaby-like interludes from Adam Chalabi’s soporific violin.

The wake-up Scherzo injected the performance, and the audience, with caffeine. Dean’s clarinet bubbled as he bounced around his seat, engaging in a cheery, nursery-rhyme-like call and response with the strings, over Trish Dean’s bounding cello.

The tricky Andante appropriated Schubert’s melody from his opera Die Freunde von Salamanka, showcasing the individual instruments and the unrelenting talent of Ensemble Q. Chalabi’s 1805 Joseph Panormo violin soared to stratospheric heights in a duet with the parping horn and bassoon.

Ensemble Q: Schubert’s Octet, GHD Auditorium, University of Queensland. Photo © Morgan Roberts

An initially moody finale, with its tremolo strings, echoed the earlier Brisbane storm. Emerging Artist Jamie Miles’s fragile viola and Anne Horton’s violin faded into silent oblivion before suddenly bursting into a vibrant Allegro. It was as if the musicians had shocked themselves out of their blues, a ray of sunshine spilling over the group as Dean’s trilling clarinet romped home to a forceful finish.

For information on Ensemble Q in 2027, visit this link.